Kevin Durant led Oklahoma City to a Game 1 win over Miami in the NBA finals.

If Kevin Durant wins the NBA title – or, one could say, LeBron James loses it – it’s actually a pretty awesome thing for the league. He’s everything David Stern could want: a seemingly sweetheart of a mamma’s boy, a three-time scoring champ hitting his stride and a guy who signed with a small-market and carried that team from the lottery to the Larry O’Brien trophy.

But today, let’s commend Durant for what Denver fans know of so well – his viciousness in the fourth quarter, his ability to take over a game and bury a team when it matters most. Some stars just aren’t wired that way. But Durant put on a spectacle last night, scoring 17 points in the decisive quarter, giving Oklahoma City a 1-0 lead against Miami, heading into Thursday’s Game 2. Consider this stat, courtesy of ESPN – Durant scored 17 last night in the fourth. Last season in the entire NBA Finals, LeBron combined for 18 fourth-quarter points.

Here’s a good piece about KD from ESPN’s J.A. Adande, who quoted Kobe Bryant, saying Durant could become a “6-11 me.”

Of course, it will be fascinating to see what types of defensive changes the Heat make on Durant. Which player/players will spend more time on Durant will be a fascinating storyline heading into Game 2 – who do you think Miami should put on him?

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Ask Nene about the potential to make the All-Star team and he’ll tell you “I’m not thinking about that.”

Still, the Nuggets big man is in the mix for either a reserve spot – which will be announced tonight on TNT – or as an injury replacement for Houston center Yao Ming. That spot will be selected by NBA commissioner David Stern, but is not part of tonight’s reserves announcement. That announcement will likely come next week. The All-Star game is on Feb. 20.

Conventional wisdom says Nene’s best shot is via commissioner’s pick, but he has done more than any other consistently healthy center to earn a reserve spot. His 22 points and 10 rebounds on Wednesday night helped the Nuggets defeat the TrailBlazers in an important Northwest Division matchup, and raised his averages this season to 15.1 points and 7.3 rebounds.

I got an e-mail today from the NBA, letting the media know that the league will play its first-ever regular-season games in Europe this season. Immediately, I thought it was cool. Two games in London – that’s awesome for the league, which has a huge international fan base and has benefited from preseason trips to other nations, notably China. I’ve often wondered if the NBA would someday, somehow open a NBA Europe League — and have the winner of that league play the NBA champion. If any American sport league could put together a vibrant European pro league, you’d think it would be The Association.

But then I looked at the participants in said watershed games. Toronto and New Jersey. Really, NBA? This is the best you got? The Bakersfield Jam wasn’t available? You’ve got the team with the worst record in the league last year versus Toronto and stars Andrea Bargnani, DeMar DeRozan and Sonny Weems? Are you trying to scare off European fans?

I kid – I know it’ll be a packed house in London, and regardless of the teams on the floor, these games will be a big deal. And I’m sure there’s a lot of other facets involved, be it the Toronto and New Jersey/New York markets, the team’s ownerships, etc. Still. Toronto and New Jersey?

Here’s the NBA’s press release:

NBA TO STAGE FIRST-EVER REGULAR-SEASON GAMES IN EUROPE

LONDON – Aug. 9, 2010 – The National Basketball Association (NBA) will make basketball history when the league holds its first-ever regular-season games in Europe, NBA Commissioner David Stern announced today. The New Jersey Nets and Toronto Raptors will square off for back-to-back games at The O2 arena in London, England, on March 4 and 5 as part of NBA Games – London 2011.

“The staging of our first regular-season games in Europe is a milestone for the NBA and the ongoing development of basketball in the region,” said Stern. “By bringing these two young and exciting teams to London, we are fulfilling our commitment to schedule a regular-season game in the UK prior to the 2012 Olympics — a natural progression given the overwhelming response to the many friendlies we have played to sold-out crowds over the years.”

Tickets for NBA Games – London 2011 will go on sale Sept. 1 and will be available for purchase at www.theo2.co.uk.

In today’s conference call with NBA reporters, NBA commissioner David Stern was asked about Stan Kroenke’s dedication to owning the Nuggets:

“It is my expectation that the Kroenke family will remain owners of the Denver Nuggets.”

And asked about George Karl’s fight against cancer, the commish said:

“He has a terrific record not only as a coach but as a motivator of young men, a lifer in the NBA. I got a chance to talk to him briefly at All-Star when we knew what the situation would be – before it was made public. He’s got an entire league and, I think, country, rooting for him, knowing that he is one very brave and determined person.”

Chauncey Billups used to run into Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas on a regular basis when he played in the Eastern Conference as a member of the Detroit Pistons.

He’s watched Arenas’ situation unfold with interest, both for Arenas and the NBA. Arenas, one of the NBA’s best players, was suspended without pay by NBA commissioner David Stern for bringing guns to the Wizards’ locker room in the Verizon Center and then for continually joking and making light of the situation.

“The possession of firearms by an NBA player in an NBA arena is a matter of the utmost concern to us,” Stern said in a statement on Wednesday.

The matter is under investigation by law enforcement authorities.

“It’s crazy,” Billups said. “It’s really an unfortunate situation for the NBA and for sports period. I’m hoping that all the facts come out and everything is not totally true about the whole deal. Because you’ve got so many different stories about what happened. But the gist of it, just having guns and firearms in the locker room is just not right. I’d think they’d know that by now. But it’s just unfortunate for the league that it happened. It really is.”

Billups has been one of the NBA’s most respected leaders and ambassadors of the game for years. He’s also been in his fair share of locker rooms in his career, which spans six teams in 13 seasons – and says he’s never seen a gun in one.

“No,” Billups said. “Not even.”

And yet guns are prevalent with players in the NBA and other professional sports as well. A recent report in the New York Post cited several New Jersey Nets saying 75 percent of NBA players own guns.

Billups was skeptical of the percentage, but acknowledged the trend, which he says has come about as players feel a growing need to protect themselves.

“I think that’s a high number,” Billups said. “There’s a fair amount of people who have house guns, just for protection for intruders or robbery attempts. Just to protect their family; wives and kids and stuff. I think that’s a high number, but I don’t really know.”

Years from now when we look back at ex-NBA official Tim Donaghy’s book ‘Personal Foul,’ what will we say it accomplished?

Donaghy’s bank account will no doubt benefit. The book, released last week, has everything a bestseller is made of – intrigue, deceit, cover-up, even a David vs. Goliath overtone as he combats the big, bad NBA. It’s fascinating. It feeds into the If-I-go-down-you’re-going-down-with-me culture the public salivates for. Moreover, it feeds into the favoritism stereotype NBA referees have had to fight off seemingly forever. Critics of the league’s officiating will love it.

But don’t mistake this for Jose Canseco’s book, which helped spark change in how baseball players are tested for performance-enhancing drugs, thereby cleaning up the game. This is not that. If you find a better test for steroids, you can catch the cheaters. If you scold NBA officials, change some rules and implement more watchdogs, will it mean what would have been the next offensive foul suddenly becomes a defensive foul? Not necessarily. And last I checked, not necessarily doesn’t spur progress-making, game-improving change.

The NBA is partly to blame. Every season coaches and players talk openly about how rookies aren’t cut any slack when it comes to fouls. That’s bias. A former coach chatted me up about how a bad relationship with an official could mean a night of not getting the benefit of the doubt on some calls while on the flipside, a good relationship with an official could be beneficial. That’s bias, too.

Why does Superstar Player A almost never foul out, yet Journeyman Player B picks up fouls by the bushels? How can Bad Reputation Player A and Squeaky Clean Reputation Player B say the same derogatory thing to a referee, but Player A is more likely to pick up the technical foul?

Traveling is treated the way baseball treats the turn at second base on a double play, which is to say there’s, um, leeway. The palming rule had to be tightened down and become enforced more often. And should a player feel so comfortable with the gray-area nature of the rules that he can stand up and seriously justify a ‘crab dribble?’ What the heck is a crab dribble?

It’s all a problem.

Then there’s the sport itself. Basketball has the biggest collection of judgment calls of any big-time professional sport. Fouls, the biggest and most consistent call, are largely subjective. That puts referees at a distinct disadvantage.

And it gets worse when one year a perimeter defender can have an out-stretched hand on the offensive player, but in effort to increase scoring, the next year that maneuver is a foul. So now the definition of what a foul even is continues morph. I know pass interference when I see it. I know the infield fly rule when I see it. A foul, however, leaves a bit too much up for discussion.

And where there’s gray area mixed with human nature, there can always be a Donaghy. The NBA says there’s just one and no more are in the pipeline.

According to NBA commissioner David Stern, Donaghy’s “allegations have been fully investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the government completed its investigation, finding that the only criminal conduct was that of Mr. Donaghy.”

But just because no other official’s transgressions rose to the level of criminal conduct doesn’t mean there isn’t a single modicum of truth to what Donaghy alleges. But what’s the endgame here?

It’s sad, because basketball is truly a great sport and the NBA is a good league that unfortunately has a sketchy reputation with its fans over the way it officiates games. But it seems none of what we’ve seen and heard, or have yet to see and hear, can lead to what we’re all ultimately looking for:

Chris Dempsey arrived at The Denver Post in Dec. 2003 after seven years at the Boulder Daily Camera, where he primarily covered the University of Colorado football and men's basketball teams. A University of Colorado-Boulder alumnus, Dempsey covers the Nuggets and also chips in on college sports.